Composite unit for flooring and the like and method for making same



June 2,' .1925

D R. HOUSTON COMPOSITE UNIT FOR FLOORING AND THE LIKE AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME Filed D. 28, 1922` Q Q @Nmw III/ll Patented June 2, 1925.

UNITED STATESA PATENT OFFICE.A

RO'SS HOUSTON, 4O1? TACOMA, WASHINGTON.

COMPOSITE UNIT FOR yFLOORING AND THE LIKE AND METHOD FOR MAKING SAME.

Application led Deoember, 1922. Serial No. 609,444. A

grade boards obtained from' soft Woods are selected from material having more or less compact grain. These Woods when'drying tend to check and crack across the gr ain that is radially thereto. In otherwords, they tend to check or split along the ntersections of the medullary rays with the growth rings ofthe trees.

Hence it is highlyl desirable to shape, or profile, the pieces of- Wood with reference `to their grain, so that when complementary pieces are matched the grain jof each piece will be -so disposed as -to give the best results in wear. And the primary object of my invention is to provide board-units which, when laid into a floor,'orl other surface, will embodyall those features which assure the best results in service.

A further objectof my invention is to provide composite boards each made up of a plurality of lcomposite narrow units, and each of the latter to consist yof a base of wood, for example soft wood,and a top, or finishing piece, of hard wood, or harder,

better wearing, or better appearing material.

Also to provlde composite strips, or units, from which such boards may be made.

In this way my invention provides for reclamation, and' the use of vstrips of both soft woods and hard Woods for producing ya high grade 'of iiooring,v or other surface,

which strips otherwise, because of their size,

would lbe usable only, if at all, for the manufacture of a low priced commodity.

' Another advantage of my invention is, it permits the laying of ahard wood floorlng by a single operation, While with the usual flooring material the lower course must be first secured in place, andthen the next coursesecured on the course laid. In other words, since eachunit of my ooring is My invention concerns whatis commonly a sunken portion at one side of its top on its bottom face Wlth a protuberance adapted` `side of` said protuberance, the sunken por- 4abutmentrfor the top 'piece of the' adjacent unit. Furthermore, the base pieces of said units are prefer of these'boards composed of a sub-base of soft wvood having firmly secured thereon a top of hard Wood, and the soft Wood'base is easily penetrated by a nail, the operation of securing the flooring in place is greatly simplified. At present many fioors are laid in three courses, namely a base course, a sub-course of better grade soft wood, and atop course of hard wood; andthe latter yhas frequently to be bored in those places where the retaining nails or pins are to be inserted, so as to' prevent splitting.l p

My invention further has fory its object .the 'fastening of the top-piece'securely on. its base. Preferably I accomplish this result by providing a flooring or surface con Sistingof avplurality of composite uniformun-its each composed of a base piece' and a top piece, thc base piece being provided withface, the top piece being` provide to be seated in said sunkenI portion, the slde of the latter overhanging the abutting tion ofthe base piece of one unit lyin'g below the top of the base piece of the adjacent unit. In this Way the side face of the base piece lof one unit will provide a locking ably provided with inter;

locking elements. y l y further object of my invention, is to interlock the abutting side faces of the composite units by complementary tongue and groove elements for example,- and in connection with this feature. so to shape the Wooden base pieces with reference to vtheir grain that shrinkage will not be apt to produce loose joints or cracks between the adjacent boards or-units. j

` Other featuresof my invention are hereinafter described. y

In vthe accompanying drawings f Fig. 1 shows in perspective a section of my composite units laid vinto, a ,matched l'looringabutting at one side with a wall; the ooring is represented as composed of boards each consisting .ofthree units built 105 according to myrinvention; the section lines are also intended to illustrate the direction ofthe grain of the Wood;

- Fig. 2 shows a perspective detail of one Fig. v3 illustrates one type of interlocking abutments which may be provided on the joined faces of the basepiece and the toppiece of each unit thereby to prevent their separation without first displacing themY relatively to each other as mentioned;

Fig. 4 illustrates another type of similar interlocking means-those preferred by nie; this figure further illust-rates that the making of the abutting side faces of the units may be made perpendicular to their under' side instead of making those -faces oblique as shownAin the 4other figures,v altho the oblique construction is preferred by me; and l Fig. represents diagrammatically a section of a log, and illustrates -how a large number of strips may be cut therefrom out of which to make my units, or the bases of the latter;

In Fig. 1 a represents a iioor joist, b a section of a wall, d, d flooring boards made in accordance with my invention. Each of these iiooring boards is composed of three units, e, f, g, as shown in Fig. 2. However, the makin of boards of any number-of units, or t e employment of the units by Vthemselves is a matter of choice.

Each of said units consists of a base-piece h and a top-piece z'. The bearingv faces of these pieces are provided with interlocking protuberances adapted to prevent the separation of these pieces without first displacing one of them relatively to the other in a direction more or less parallel with the plane of the under side of the base-piece.

ances are constructed as shown in Fig. 4, namely, the upper face of the base-piece h is provided at one end with a recess j thus leaving an oblique overhanging wall la, while the under face of the top-piece i is correspondingly constructed, thus providing a lip -Z projecting at its base as shown in Fig. 4 and thus under said overhanging wall Ic. Hence, when t-he two pieces are joined together, as shown in the right hand unit of Fig. 4, it would be vimpossible to .lift up the top-piece to the left; and as such ldisplacement is prevented bythe abuttingunit'- of the floor, or the wall as shown in Fig. 1, the top-piece is securely held in place irrespective of the cement by which `the base and top pieces are united. When the units are shaped as illustrated in Figs. l and 2, a filler piece as hshown in Fig. ltiskpreferably used; this filler piece having a tongue h2 corresponding with the tongue mv of the unit.

Preferably I make the abutting side faces of 'ther Yunits with oblique angles as shown in Fig. 3, so that one of such faces will underlie andY constitute a support for the abutting face of the adjoining unit. Furthermore, the angles of said abutting faces are prefer- ]in the lower surface.

ably such as to -leave'a spacebetween them It the base which permits a close joint to be made at the top surfaces between abutting units. It also prevents any direct strain being taken up by the surfaces o and p.

Instead of making the interlocking protuberances of the bearing faces of the bascpiece as shown in Fig. 4, these protuberances may be made as illustrated in Fig. 3.

One of the side faces of the base-piece of each unit is made with a tongue m, and the opposite -side face is made .with a corresponding groove n. Thesey ltongue-andgroove elements are preferably arranged as illustrated in Figs. 1,'2 and 3, so that the units can not be moved apart by any relative ,movement in a horizontal plane. The tongue is made of lesser length than that of the groove n in order to provide an air space m between these parts at the tip of the tongue. j

.'In order to prevent loose joints and cracks between adjacent units, or boards composed of the latter, due to lshrinkage inl width of the tongue relative to the Width of its groove, I so profile or shape thel bases of the units that the grain thereof will run vthis reason all strips of which the surface Preferably these interlocking protuber is to be built must be profiled with reference to their grain, so that when assembled to form the surface their grain will extend substantially'in the same direction; and this applies to both the base and top piece of which each unit is composed.

In practicing my invention I find it convenient to resaw the pieces of wood or deals from which my units are to be made into a plurality of narrow equilateral strips which are then shaped and profiled with respect to their grain as described. And the interlocking protuberances of the upper and lower faces of the base piece and top-piecc should be shaped as shown. For, as well known, a horizontal member supported on its ends is subjected to different forces within the member itself; in short the load tends to .flex the member, so as to concave it in respect to the load; and thus sets up compression in the upper surface, and tension Thus in my iiooring the load imposed upon it subjects thel abutting cornersat the top pieces to a compression strain. ATherefore I bring the thicker portion q of the top-piece over the groove In.

.In consequence as shown in the drawings,

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base of the latter. In this Way `the horizontal displacement Vof the top piece is prevented.

Furthermore, since the grooved side of.

of the adjoining-unit Will so distribute the load as to make a break down in my flooring pratically impossible.

The top piece is usually cemented on the base, therefore the grains in these pieces must so complement each other that shrinkage and swelling will not relatively exceed the elastic li'mit of the cement and thus cause a rupture of the latter. The cement used should be impervious to moisture, so that moisture will not re-enter the structure as a factor. The reason for this is that the units should retain their original dimensions after their pieces have been cemented together, and not require refinishing; but, if the cement had a tendencyto absorb moisture, it might necessitate the refinishing of the unit after having been kept in stock for some time; or even after the floor were laid.

l. A liooring or surface consisting of a plurality` of composite uniform units, each composed of a base-piece and a top-piece, the base-piece being provided With a sunken portion at one side on its top face, the top piece being provided on its bottom face with a protuberance adapted to be seated in said sunken portion, the side of the latter over-hanging the abutting side of said protuberance, whereby the sunken portion of the base-piecel of one unit will lie below the top of the base piece of the adjacent unit,

and the side face of the base piecev of one unit will provide a locking abutment for the top piece of the adjacent unit.

2. A yflooring or surface 'consisting of a plurality of composite uniform units, each composed of a basevpiee'e and a top piece, the

-hanging the abutting side of said protuberance,v whereby the sunken portion of the base-piece of one .unit will lie'below the top of thebase piece of the adjacenthu'nit and G0 i the side face ofthe base-piece of one unit will provide a locking abutment for the toppiece of the adjacent unit,*thebase-pieee vof vsaid units being provided- With interlocking elements. y v

3. Aillooring, or sur-face, consisting of a plurality of composite units, each composed ofa base-piece and a top-piece, said units being arranged side by side in the same plane, the joined faces of said pieces being provided with interlocking protuberances adapted to require the relative displacement of the top-piece in a direction approximately parallel with the plane of its under side, in order to separate said pieces, the

abutting side faces of the base pieces of said units being provided with interlocking elements of the tongue and groove type respectively, the interlocking rotuberance of said top-piece being thickest at that side located over the groove of its base piece and extending beloWy the top -piece of the adjoining unit.

4:. A flooring, or surface, consisting of a plurality of composite units, each composed of a base-piece and a top-piece, said units being arranged side vby side in the same plane, the joined faces of said pieces being provided with interlocking protuberances adapted to require the relative displacement of the top-piece in a direction approxii mately parallel with the plane of its underl side, in order to separate said pieces, the abutting side faces of the base pieces of said units being provided with interlocking elements of the tongue and groove type respectively, the interlocking protuberance of said top-piece being thicker at that side located over the roove of` its base-piece and eX- tending beilovv the top-piece `of thel adjoining unit also extending a substantial distance towards the longitudinal middlel of the unit.

5. A flooring, or surface, consisting of a plurality of composite units, each composed of a base-piece anda top-piece, said units being arranged side by side in the same plane, the joined faces of said pieces being provided with interlocking protuberances adapted to require the relative displacement of the topiece in a direction approximately parallel with the plane of its underside, in order to separate said pieces, the abutting side lfaces of the base ieces of said units being oblique and'p'rovided With interlocking elements of the tongue and groove type respectively, the interlocking proturberances of said top-piece being thicker at that side locatedover the groove of its base piece and extending below the top-piece of the adjoining unit. g

6. A flooring, or surface, consisting of a plurality of composite units, each composed of ra base-piece' and a top-piece, said units being arranged side by side in the same plane, the joined faces of said pieces being provided with interlocking protuberances f adapted to require the relative displacement of the top-piece in a direction approximately parallel Withthe plane of its under side; in

order to separate said pieces, the abutting side faces of the base pieces, of said units being oblique and provided with interlocking elements of the tongue and groove type respectively, 'the interlocking protuberance of said top-piece being thicker, at that side located over-the groove of its base-piece and extending below the top-piece of the adjoining unit, also extending a substantial distance towardsvthe longitudinal middle of the unit.

7`. In flooring units consisting of elongated top and bottom members of `substantially equal Width and adapted to fit in vertical alinement one With the other, engaging lmeans on the abuttingfaces of the members requiring the displacement of the members sidewise to permit their separation.

8. In oorin units consisting of elongated top. and ott'om members `ot substantially equal Width .and adapted to tit in verti cal alinment one With the other, engaging means on the abutting faces of the members requiring the displacement of the y:.ienibers sidewise to permit their separation, said members being cemented in engaging position.

ROSS HOUSTON. 

